Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR) has listed with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx), ₱620 million from the first tranche of the company’s ₱3 billion Commercial Paper (CP) Program.
This is the third CP Program for the publicly-listed company of the Alcantara Group which had its first CP issuance in 2018. Proceeds from the issuance will be used primarily for general working capital purposes.
At the listing ceremony, ACR Chairman and President Nicasio I. Alcantara said, “Our continuing partnership with PDEx has helped us in fulfilling our commitment to provide clean, reliable, affordable and renewable energy for the people of Mindanao and key areas of the Visayas.” Mr Alcantara continued,” In the coming years, renewable energy will comprise at least half of ACR’s energy portfolio. The steadfast support of partners like you has helped make all this possible, while allowing us as well to provide investors with an attractive alternative investment outlet thru our CP issuances”.
The company is now focused on building up its renewable energy capacity in the next few years, with around eight run-of-river hydroelectric power facilities in the company’s pipeline. The first of these hydroelectric power plants is the 14.5 mega-watt (MW) Siguil Hydro power plant currently under construction in Maasim, Sarangani Province, which is targeting to begin operations in 2023.
ACR is Mindanao’s first private sector power generator providing electricity to over eight million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces in the country’s second largest island. The company currently has a portfolio of four power plants in Mindanao with a total capacity of 468 MW.
In the first quarter of this year, ACR received an issuer credit rating upgrade from the Philippine Rating Services Corporation (PhilRatings) advancing to PRS Aa minus (corp.) from PRS A plus (corp). According to PhilRatings, a company with a PRS Aa rating “has a strong capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to other Philippine corporates.” Among the factors cited by PhilRatings for the upgrade of ACR’s credit rating were: ACR’s “planned expansion projects which will further diversify its generation mix” and the company’s “ability to establish joint ventures with strong partners for particular projects.”
